


By the Sea

by LiterallyFRIST



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Default Shepard, Fluff, M/M, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-13
Updated: 2016-01-13
Packaged: 2018-05-13 19:07:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 714
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5713744
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LiterallyFRIST/pseuds/LiterallyFRIST
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Shepard goes off to watch the sunset by the sea, and Kaidan joins him. Simple short fluff fic.</p>
            </blockquote>





	By the Sea

**Author's Note:**

> This is intended to be a continuation of a previous fic I wrote and posted on tumblr, but it's not necessary to have read that to get what this fic is about.

The sound of ocean waves lapping gently against the stony shore underfoot filled Shepard’s ears, a noise more calming than the contented quietness of the apartment or the clockwork hum of the Normandy’s engines had ever been. He had never lived close to the sea, yet as he stood there on the pier, breathing in the coastal air, Shepard had never felt more at home.

“Enjoying the sea air, John?”

A familiar voice accompanied the warmth that had come to rest itself against his shoulder, light and slow, almost careful. It’s as though Kaidan had forgotten that it had been a year now since he was in and out of the hospital, but Shepard didn’t have any reason to mind. With an arm quickly slung around the other man’s shoulder, Shepard pulled him closer, close as they could get before they start poking into each other’s ribs.

“I heard it’s good for the soul,” Shepard replied, before burying a smile into Kaidan’s tangled locks, soft as sea foam.

Kaidan’s eyes were fixed on the horizon. A sun was setting, warm and golden, against a lavender sky. It wasn’t Sol, setting light-years away in its own system, but just as breathtaking. “We’re making a habit of this.”

“Hmm?” Shepard hmm-ed, taking his lips out of Kaidan’s hair to plant a quick kiss on his stubbly cheek. “A habit of what?”

Kaidan cracked a smile of his own, and his eyes came to see Shepard’s, blue as the waters of the bay, and yet infinitely more beautiful. He forgot what he was about to say, distracted as he was, but there was no panic when there was no rush. The time they had for each other now was not fleeting, not like when they were soldiers serving on the Normandy. It came to him at last as he returned to view of the sunset over waves crowned with gold, and he spoke the words he had meant to speak following a lighthearted chuckle. “Watching sunsets.”

Shepard cocked his head, his mind harking back to the last time they’d done what he said they did. “That was... what was it, a year ago? I was just out of hospital for good -- don’t tell me you forgot about that. I kept trying to get you back indoors and onto the new bedsheets I put on our bed to celebrate the occasion, but you insisted that we stay so we could watch the stars.”

Kaidan chuckled, and he couldn’t stop grinning as he recalled the memory of that evening. “That was a good way to spend the night, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah. I suppose it was,” Shepard said, having to admit to himself that, yes, it had been a great night, even if they didn’t get to despoil the bedsheets as Shepard had intended. Thinking back, growing up on the streets, Shepard never had anyone to share moments like that night, lying beneath a dome of stars; their bodies pressed together, seeking warmth; whispering loving words into each other’s ears like secrets that were theirs alone to share -- it made Shepard feel like the luckiest man in the galaxy to have made it this far, to have found someone like Kaidan to spend the rest of his life with. “I’m glad I stuck around.”

“And I’m glad you did,” Kaidan repeated him, hand descending upon his waist to turn him around and close in for an embrace. "You make me feel so loved, you know that?”

“As I should,” Shepard replied, Kaidan grinning proudly, their eyes locked together, arms wrapped tight around each other. “You’re the only reason why I stay.”

The sun was gone now, its rays faded into the night. As stars coalesced on a field of black void, two figures sat beneath their starlight, with hands entwined, inseparable, lips whispering sweet nothings, hearts heavy with affection. Late into the night, they would return home, eyes drowsy with sleep, too tired to act upon their want for each other. Yet for all this night was worth, Shepard knew for certain that it was only one out of the many they would spend being lost in one another. And counting in the present only two of these nights, Shepard slept soundly knowing that their lives had only just begun.

* * *


End file.
